Fossett just scrapes into record books

Pilot Steve Fossett waves after completing a flight around the world in the GlobalFlyer.

Dave Kaup: Reuters

The final figures are in for Steve Fossett's epic solo flight around the world and the American aviator will make it into the record books with 30 kilometres to spare.

After a busy night of calculating flight data, organisers say Fossett travelled a total of 19,880 nautical miles (36,817 kilometres), about 17 nautical miles (30 kilometres) further than required.

To officially make it around the world, Fossett needed to do more than just touch back down where he took off in Salina, Kansas, after flying over the United States, Canada, the Middle East, India, China, Japan and Hawaii.

He needed to travel a distance equal to or greater than the length of the Tropic of Cancer - 36,787 kilometres.

Mr Fossett covered that distance - and slightly more - in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer in 67 hours, 1 minute and 46 seconds, organisers said, revising the official times released on Fossett's landing.

"It was quite a sensation to be covering that much distance," Fossett told reporters.

"I'm just delighted that it turned out and the project was successful on the very first attempt."

Fossett departed from Salina Municipal Airport on Monday at 6:47pm (local time) and touched down at 1:48pm on Thursday to the sound of the local high school marching band and cheers from a welcoming crowd of thousands.

The first person to circumnavigate the globe on a non-stop, non-refuelled solo flight said he expects the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer will tour aviation shows so the public can catch a glimpse of the plane.

He is also currently in negotiations with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington to donate the GlobalFlyer to the museum's collection.

The project's website generated 130 million hits in the final 24 hours of the flight.

During the course of his journey, Fossett reached speeds of 648 kilometres per hour and altitudes of over 15,000 metres at an average speed of about 559 kilometres per hour.

The GlobalFlyer was designed by aviation legend Burt Rutan, whose SpaceShipOne won the $US10 million "X Prize" last year for sending a privately-designed craft into space twice in two weeks.

Rutan also designed the Voyager, which was used by his brother Dick Rutan and Jeanne Yeager in 1986 to fly around the world without stopping or refuelling in nine days.

Fossett's flight was bankrolled by Virgin Atlantic founder and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, who has set a number of aviation and sailing records of his own.

Fossett has teamed up with Sir Richard a number of times in the past, and said that he may do so again on his next project, which he expects to announce in a few months.